Department for Transport

Buses: Exhaust Emissions

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ban private tourist diesel buses operating in the centres of heavily polluted (1) towns, and (2) cities.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Government has no current plans to ban private tourist diesel buses from town centres.

Old Oak Common Station

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their latest estimates for the cost of the station serving Great Western, Heathrow Express and TfL train services at Old Oak Common; how many station platforms are planned; when development approval will be sought; and whether these costs related to Old Oak Common station are included in the Government’s cost estimate for HS2.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Old Oak Common will contain 14 platforms: 6 subterranean High Speed platforms and 8 conventional rail platforms for services on the Great Western Main Line. Within the Target Cost for Phase One, the budget allocated by HS2 Ltd for the Old Oak Common station, including contingency for risk, is £1.67bn (2019 prices). A more detailed breakdown of costs cannot be provided as this information is commercially sensitive. The High Speed Rail (London to West Midlands) Act provides the necessary powers for the station.

Railway Stations: Greater Manchester

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the overall cost for the construction of the proposed Manchester HS2 (1) surface station, (2) rail-related buildings, (3) tunnels, (4) portals, and (5) track and signalling.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The High-Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill Business Case and Overarching Estimate of Expense provide key cost estimates for the Phase 2b Western Leg.

Railway Stations: Greater Manchester

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the (1) development, (2) construction, and (3) commissioning (a) times, and (b) costs, for the proposed underground Manchester HS2 station project; and what closures of the tram services in Manchester will be required during the construction.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Manchester HS2 station project is for a surface station located on the same level as the existing Piccadilly Network Rail station. The HS2 surface station is based on a 6-platform surface station and will be accessed by a tunnelled route until the station approach. The Government is intent on working with HS2 Ltd to limit the level of disruption throughout construction.HS2 Ltd expect the disruption to the Metrolink Ashton Line to last for around two years during which a bus replacement service will be provided between Ashton Cole and Manchester Piccadilly.

Railway Stations: Greater Manchester

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement byLord Greenhalgh on 11 May (HL Deb col 98) on the £5 billiondelivery of an underground station in Manchester, how many platforms the plan includes; what are the length of the tunnels connecting to the station platforms in both directions; whether any non-HS2 trains could use the underground station; what are the lengths of the platforms; and what is the overall cost estimate for the underground station and its tunnels.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The High-Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill deposited in parliament on 24 January set out the Government’s commitment for a surface station. The Bill does not contain plans for an underground station and the Government continues to consider that an enlarged (6-platform) surface station can meet requirements at substantially lower cost and construction impact than underground alternatives. These views are reflected in the Bill that has been deposited in parliament.

High Speed 2 Line: Procurement

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that (1) Hikvision, and (2) Dahua, cameras and technology are not used in the procurement supply chain for the HS2 railway line.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: It is not government policy to comment on security arrangements. HS2 Ltd's procurement process is undertaken in line with the Utilities Contract Regulations (2016 as amended). HS2’s contracts specify a level of capability which suppliers of products must be able to meet.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Company Accounts: Standards

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Callanan on 20 May (HL31), why s833A is relevant to that answer, given that s833A does not provide an example of adjustments to numbers in the audited accounts because s833A(7) uses different numbers valued in accordance with rules from the Prudential Regulatory Authority instead.

Lord Callanan: As noted in the answer I gave to HL31, section 833A is an example of a factor that directors in certain insurance companies may need to consider when using their relevant accounts to determine their company’s distributable profits. Section 833A works in tandem with other sections that reference the accounts, to create a dual test.

Company Accounts: Standards

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Callanan on 20 May (HL31), how anyaudited accounts described as a "starting point" can have been reliable for assessing whether a company is capable of being a going concern or not, if that “starting point” (1) contained material unrealised profits, and (2) excluded material realised losses.

Lord Callanan: UK-adopted international accounting standards require the directors of a company, when preparing the accounts, to make an assessment of the company’s ability to continue to operate as a going concern for at least 12 months from the balance sheet date. These standards also require disclosure where there are material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt upon the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Section 836 of the Companies Act 2006 requires that the calculation of distributable profits is determined by reference to the relevant accounts. Part 23 includes other criteria that must be assessed before the amount of distributable profits for the company can be determined. In taking a decision to pay a dividend, directors must also consider their duty under s172 of the Companies Act 2006 to promote the success of the company for the benefit of shareholders as a whole. Consideration of the success of the company may include an assessment of whether the company would, following the payment of the proposed dividend, be solvent and continue to be able to pay its debts as they fall due, in the context of the current and likely future position and needs of the company.

Company Accounts: Standards

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers byLord Callanan on 20 May (HL27 and HL31), by what authority theUK Endorsement Board is endorsing accounting standards under its duties in secondary legislation without considering the primary legislative framework in which those standards sit; and when was such authority (1) given, and (2) by whom.

Lord Callanan: Regulation 5 of the International Accounting Standards and European Public Limited-Liability Company (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/685) gave the Secretary of State the responsibility to adopt international accounting standards, with a view to harmonising the financial information presented by companies preparing accounts required by section 403(1) of the Companies Act 2006. This responsibility was delegated to the UK Endorsement Board via the International Accounting Standards (Delegation of Functions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2021, which was approved by Parliament and came into force on 22 May 2021. The delegation also includes the requirement to abide by the basis for adoption of international accounting standards set-out in Regulation 7 of SI 2019/685.

Company Accounts: Standards

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Callanan on 20 May (HL31), how systemic such adjustments are if audited accounts are merely a “starting point“; and whether the result of companies having to do that has been subject to an impact assessment in terms of (1) burdens on business, and (2) the risk of hiding insolvency.

Lord Callanan: Companies calculate their distributable profits under Part 23 of the Companies Act 2006, and as such, it is an individual decision at the company level as to whether to make a distribution.An impact assessment on the Companies Act 2006 was published in January 2007 and is attached to this response.Companies Act 2006 Regulatory IA (pdf, 314.7KB)

Department of Health and Social Care

Immunosuppression

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will appoint a ministerial lead specifically responsible for the immunocompromised in order to improve future (1) policy, (2) communication, and (3) guidance, for that group.

Lord Kamall: The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Vaccines and Public Health (Maggie Throup MP) has Ministerial responsibility for immunocompromised groups.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the psychological impact on immunocompromised individuals who are continuing to shield due to COVID-19.

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the economic impact on immunocompromised individuals who are continuing to shield due to COVID-19.

Lord Kamall: No specific assessment has been made. People designated as clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) were advised to shield between 22 March 2020 to 15 September 2021. However, shielding is not current policy. Individuals previously considered as CEV include but are not limited to those who are immunocompromised. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) recently conducted a survey of people previously considered to be CEV. In April 2022, the survey found that 46% were very or somewhat worried about the current effect of the pandemic on their life, with 25% reporting that the pandemic posed a major or significant risk to their mental health. The survey found that 29% were in paid employment, 7% reported they had lost income due to shielding or isolating and 20% worked from at home. Insights for those whose immune systems mean they continue to be at high risk from COVID-19 and who are continuing to shield will be included in a future ONS survey release in June 2022.

Evusheld

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Vaccines and Public Health) in the Department of Health and Social Care on 20 April (151279),what level of efficacy against Omicron they would deem as "sufficient" in order to secure a supply of Evusheld.

Lord Kamall: There is no pre-determined view of a ‘sufficient’ level of efficacy. The Department will seek expert clinical advice on the results of the UK Health Security Agency’s testing to inform future decision making. RAPID C-19 will consider all data relating to the use of Evusheld as a pre-exposure prophylaxis treatment before providing advice to the Chief Medical Officer.

Coronavirus: Medical Treatments

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of existing COVID-19 antiviral treatments for eligible patients in reducing rates of hospitalisation and death.

Lord Kamall: A range of treatment options are available to non-hospitalised patients at higher risk from COVID-19 to reduce severe disease, hospitalisation and death. These treatments are available through COVID Medicines Delivery Units and include the oral antivirals nirmatrelvir+ritonavir (Paxlovid), molnupiravir and the infusion antiviral remdesivir.Evidence from clinical trials suggests these treatments can reduce the risk of hospitalisation. For molnupiravir, interim results found a 50% reduction in the relative risk of hospitalisation or death compared to placebo. However, updated results indicate molnupiravir reduces the relative risk of hospitalisation or death by 30% compared to placebo. Pfizer’s final analysis on the clinical trials of nirmatrelvir+ritonavir showed an 88% reduction in hospitalisation or death compared to a placebo within five days of symptom onset. No assessment of how these treatments have impacted rates of hospitalisation since December has been made.Both molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir+ritonavir are being trialled as part of the PANORAMIC national study. Results for molnupiravir are expected in summer 2022. Recruitment for the nirmatrelvir + ritonavir opened on 11 April 2022. The study will collect further data on how these treatments work in a United Kingdom context where the majority of the population is vaccinated. It will also provide baseline information on how antivirals could be used for best clinical effect in combination with antibodies or other antiviral drugs as they become available. A 2021 trial showed that among non-hospitalised patients at high risk for COVID-19 progression, a three-day course of remdesivir had an acceptable safety profile and resulted in an 87% lower risk of hospitalisation or death than placebo.

Coronavirus: Medical Treatments

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of eligible patients have received doses of COVID-19 antiviral therapies within the 5-day guidelines set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

Lord Kamall: Since they were established in December 2021, COVID Medicines Delivery Units have provided antiviral or monoclonal antibody treatments to over 43,000 patients in England. Of these, over 20,100 patients have been treated with antivirals. The clinical access policies specify that the oral antivirals molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir+ritonavir must be administered within five days of the patient starting to experience symptoms. Over 95% of eligible non-hospitalised patients who have received an antiviral treatment to date were treated within five days from the onset of symptoms. However, the antiviral infusion remdesivir is suitable to be administered within seven days of the patient becoming symptomatic.

Department for Education

Education: South West

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by the University of Exeter Social Mobility in the South West, published on 28 April, that “the South-West has the worst educational outcomes for disadvantaged young people in the country, and low social mobility compared with other areas”; and what steps they are taking to address these problems.

Baroness Barran: The department recognises that this is a very significant issue for the South West. The report acknowledges the work we are doing in the region, and we are committed to supporting this further.The attached ‘Table N5’ of the latest published key stage 2 outcomes for 2019 provides the data on the disadvantage gap and shows that the gap has been narrowing up until the latest year where it saw a slight upturn.A similar trend is seen at key stage 4 where the gap was generally narrowing until the latest 2020/21 data point. More information on key stage 4 is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance-revised#dataBlock-8a6b42aa-6090-4799-a02e-f9ad86353d33-tables.The department also has a South West disadvantage strategy and plan, with numerous strands. The strands include:Working with sector networks and trust leaders to promote and improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupilsWorking with department policy colleagues to promote and support key developments in the region. For example, the national tutoring programmeWorking with and learning from sector experts. For example, the Education Endowment Foundation on what works, basing our strategies on the latest evidenceIncluding disadvantage outcomes and gaps as part of our induction of the new regional advisory board members As outlined in the Schools White Paper, we want to build capacity in the parts of the country that need this most. This is why we have identified 55 Education Investment Areas, which include the third of local authorities where attainment is lowest and where we will offer substantial additional support to drive school improvement. Our Education Investment Areas include a number of areas in the South West.In these areas we will be supporting schools not making necessary improvements by moving them into strong trusts, subject to our ongoing consultation. We will also be investing in trust capacity, extending the Connect the Classroom programme to improve schools’ digital connectivity and offering the Levelling Up premium to eligible teachers in disadvantaged schools.We will also make more intensive investment in a subset of Priority Education Investment Areas, where underperformance is particularly entrenched. These areas include our existing Opportunity Areas, including West Somerset. These areas will benefit from a share of around £40 million to address specific local needs, as well as advanced access to other department programmes.HL297_Table_KS2 (pdf, 19.3KB)

Academies

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State for Educationis ableto require local authorities to develop local strategic plans to bring local authority maintained schools into the academy system.

Baroness Barran: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, does not have the power to require local authorities to develop strategic plans to bring local authority-maintained schools into the academy system. The Schools Bill contains a power for local authorities to support schools in joining academy trusts by applying for academy orders on their behalf.

Academies

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many schools they expect to convert to academy status though sponsorship or other means between March 2022 and December 2030.

Baroness Barran: The Schools White Paper sets out the department’s intention that by 2030, all children will benefit from being taught in a family of schools, with their school in a strong multi-academy trust, or with plans to join or form one. The best trusts in the system will work where they are needed most, levelling up standards, and transforming previously underperforming schools.The policies set out in the White Paper will remove barriers that are preventing schools from benefiting from the support of a strong trust, whilst ensuring that all parts of the system can play their part in building a single, coherent system.Local authorities will be able to add new capacity to the system by establishing new strong trusts. Additionally, the department will ensure there are statutory protections for academies with a religious character, equivalent to those for maintained schools with a religious character. Appropriate financial support will be provided to Dioceses and other religious bodies to enable the growth and establishment of trusts.Regional directors will engage local partners to determine the best way to develop a strong trust landscape that suits their area, investing up to £86 million over the next three years in building trust capacity, focused particularly on Education Investment Areas.The department is keen to continue engaging with the sector on how best to achieve a fully trust-led system by 2030.

Academies

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the total cost of converting maintained schools to academy status through sponsorship or other means from March 2022 to December 2030; and what is their expectation of the average cost of converting each school to academy status.

Baroness Barran: The average costs of converting maintained schools to academy status will vary significantly by project and based on the different approaches taken with partners, including whether the conversion is via the sponsored or converter route. The approach taken will depend on the circumstances of the school at the time.The department has a range of existing grant regimes to support schools to convert in a variety of circumstances. For sponsored academy projects, pre-opening grant funding is available, supporting pre-opening costs such as staff recruitment, project management, legal advice, and any other school improvement interventions, helping to improve pupil outcomes. Funding values vary depending on the type of school, ranging from £70,000 to £150,000. Converter academies are eligible to apply for the £25,000 support grant, following approval of the conversion application.Additionally, the department is investing up to £86 million over the next three years in building trust capacity, focused particularly in Education Investment Areas where pupil outcomes are weakest, and within these, Priority Education Investment Areas. The Trust Capacity Fund helps trusts take on underperforming schools for defined growth projects which have been approved by a regional director. Regional directors will engage local partners to determine the best way to develop a strong trust landscape that suits their area.Being part of a strong trust can also unlock financial benefits. By centralising operational and administrative functions, schools within a multi-academy trust can save time and money. This can then be reinvested directly into the areas which have the greatest impact on children’s outcomes, including unlocking capacity to support weaker schools.

Private Education: Charities

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the requirements of charitable status on independent schools; and who ensures that those requirements are fulfilled.

Baroness Barran: The department does not regulate the charitable status of independent schools. The Charity Commission is an independent, non-ministerial government department that has responsibility for registering eligible organisations as charities and for outlining the requirements placed on them when achieving charitable status.The advancement of education is a charitable purpose and so independent schools are capable of being charities. Currently, approximately 50% of independent schools hold charitable status. Irrespective of charitable status or otherwise, all independent schools must always meet the same independent school standards.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Water: Pollution

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government why different advice is being provided for new homes construction in the Wye, Lugg and Usk catchments between Natural Resources Wales and Natural England with regard to nutrient neutrality of foul water.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: In Wales, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) acts as the Statutory Nature Conservation Organisation. Natural England works closely with NRW on environmental issues but it remains NRW's responsibility to provide relevant advice in Wales. Whilst the present advice in England and Wales is tailored to the relevant local circumstances, as appropriate, NRW is currently in the process of updating its advice.

Farms: Inspections

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many extra inspections, prosecutions and convictions have been conducted under the Farming Rules for Water, and other matters, since the appointment of 50 extra Environment Agency Inspectors, comparing the period before and after their appointment.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Recruiting 50 new Agricultural Regulatory Inspections Officers has allowed the Environment Agency (EA) to significantly increase its inspections from around 300 per annum to 1805 in financial year 2021-22.From April 2021 to date the EA has issued 3186 environmental improvement actions to farmers to bring them into compliance with regulations and prevent pollution. The EA has verified that 871 of these actions have been completed and it will continue to follow up the others to conclusion. Some actions on farms, such as building a new slurry store, take more time to complete due to raising finance, planning considerations and availability of contractors.The new officers have not taken any prosecutions yet and have not applied any Civil Sanctions to Farming Rules for Water Offences. Except in cases of significant pollution, the EA starts the regulatory journey with advice, following up with more formal enforcement if that advice is not acted on.

Home Office

Migrants: Domestic Abuse

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish their evaluation of the Support for Migrant Victims pilot scheme.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Tackling domestic abuse and ensuring victims receive the support they need, is a priority for this Government. Furthermore, anyone who has suffered domestic abuse must be treated as a victim first and foremost, regardless of immigration status. In April 2021, the Home Office launched the £1.5 million Support for Migrant Victims Scheme for migrant victims of domestic abuse who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF). The pilot, being run by Southall Black Sisters and their delivery partners for a duration of 12 months, provides wraparound support for migrant victims of domestic abuse, including subsistence, accommodation and counselling. We have appointed an independent evaluator, Behavioural Insights Ltd, to assess the Scheme, with a view to producing a final report later this year. The Scheme and independent evaluation will help to build the evidence-base needed to better understand the diverse needs of the migrant population, which in turn should inform any future change in policy decisions. In the interim, as announced in our recently published Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, we will provide £1.4 million in 2022-23 to continue to fund support for migrant victims of domestic abuse, whilst we take on board vital lessons learned from the pilot to inform future policy decisions.The Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan will seek to transform the whole of society’s response in order to prevent offending, support victims and pursue perpetrators, as well as to strengthen the systems processes in place needed to deliver these goals. The Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) National Statement of Expectations, and Commissioning Toolkit, which we have published alongside the Plan, will also provide support to commissioners to help them increase provision of ‘by and for’ and specialist services.

Cabinet Office

Homicide: Young People

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord True on 14 March (HL6441), whether they will provide the equivalent data for the 20 years up to April 2022.

Lord True: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the noble Lord’s Parliamentary Question of 10 May is below and attached. Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National StatisticianThe Rt Hon. the Lord Field of Birkenhead CH DLHouse of LordsLondonSW1A 0PW18 May 2022Dear Lord Field,As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking for the number of offences, by age, currently recorded as homicide by sharp instrument for the previous 20 years up to April 2022 (HL58).The Office for National Statistics publishes homicide figures where the method of killing was by a knife or sharp instrument sourced from the Home Office Homicide Index, which is a database separate from the main police recorded crime dataset. It contains detailed record-level information about each homicide recorded by the police in England and Wales. It is continually updated with revised information from the police and courts and, as such, is a richer source of data than the main police recorded crime dataset.Table 1 presents the number of offences currently recorded as homicide by a sharp instrument, by age, for the year ending March 2011 to the year ending March 2021. This data was published alongside Homicide in England and Wales, year ending March 2021 [1]. We do not hold up-to-date data on the number of offences currently recorded as homicide by a sharp instrument, by age, for year ending March 2003 to year ending March 2010 as requested [2].Data for year ending March 2022 will not be published until February 2023.  Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian DiamondTable 1: Offences [3] currently recorded as homicide by a sharp instrument, by age [4], year ending March 2011 to year ending March 2021[5]Apr 2010 to Mar 2011Apr 2011 to Mar 2012Apr 2012 to Mar 2013Apr 2013 to Mar 2014Apr 2014 to Mar 2015Apr 2015 to Mar 2016Apr 2016 to Mar 2017Apr 2017 to Mar 2018Apr 2018 to Mar 2019Apr 2019 to Mar 2020Apr 2020 to Mar 2021Number of victims Total236 208 195 203 186 211 216 281 260 270 235 Under 1614109469667108 16-178711108111014171310 18-244046384744375182617754 1 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/homicideinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch20212 This data may be available if you contact the Home Office directly.3 As of 10 December 2021; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.4 The age categories that have been used in this table are supplied by the Home Office.5 Home Office statisticians and police forces have undertaken a review of homicide data for year ending March 2019 and year ending March 2020 to update suspect data and cancelled crimes. Totals shown in this table will not match previously published figures.UKSA response (pdf, 125.1KB)